Help Tim Go to College in the USA

Tim Ghita-Urmanczy is hoping to be a 2017 Freshman of Calvin College with your help!  

Tim came to the U.S. from Romania at 16 and is a graduate of Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine California. He needs financial assistance to continue his U.S. education. Tim has received some support from the school but needs additional assistance to pay his tuition. Otherwise his Visa will expire and he will have to return to Romania immediately where the education system is much lower. Please help Tim stay in the U.S. and go to College! 

Read more about Tim's story here:

Hi, I'm Tim and I was born in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

When I was 7 I learned how to play basketball. I fell in love with the game immediately. I didn't know then that it would lead to an opportunity for an education too. I was a member of the Romanian national team and won multiple national championships in Romania.

In 2014, my dad’s acquaintance, Gheorghe Muresan, who happens to be the former Washington Bullets center, contacted my parents asking if I would like
to study and continue my basketball career in the United States. It took my parents 3 months to decide if they should let their 16 year old son go away from
home at such a young age, and let him enter a new world, culture and lifestyle by himself. Romania is an amazing country and I love it but the opportunity to get an education in the U.S. is the chance of a lifetime.

After finding out that Crean Lutheran High School had admitted me into their program, I moved to Irvine, California in the summer of 2014 to study for the next three years. I came in as a sophomore and literally everything was completely different. The grading system, language, course difficulty and even the way teachers interacted with the students; was different. Everyone was very welcoming and tried their best to make California home for me. It was hard, because I missed my family so much and had to learn everything new, but I have been able to adapt to a new lifestyle and American habits as well as learn the differences in how our cultures view the world.

Languagewas a big barrier for the first year, understanding how people use their words and intonation, as well as how humor and sarcasm play into personal interactions. Slowly I was able to better communicate with others and express myself easier. Being around people who constantly spoke English helped me a lot with the learning process as I would try to remember how they used their words. My teachers were really great and understanding with the fact that I was coming from another country.

Since I played basketball, I was given the opportunity to be on the varsity basketball team at Crean and it was a life-changing experience. The head coach is an amazing guy, he not only taught me basketball but also taught me about life and helped me through process of adapting to this new world. He introduced me to a church that I  attended in high school, called Grace Church in Laguna Niguel. 

The past fall I learned about Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Midwest has a climate more similar to Romania so when I was able to visit the school, I fell in love with it the moment I stepped on their campus. The way people interacted with each other, and how students would go out of their way to greet us with a warm welcome, really impressed me! A few months after I applied to Calvin, I received the news that I was accepted into their program! I am so thankful for this opportunity to follow my dreams and be able to get an education at such an amazing school!

Since I’ve moved to America, God has been blessing me with many opportunities and I thank Him every single day, for giving me the opportunity to go to high school and now college.

For my parents and I, this is such a big deal because in Romania the education level is ten times lower and there is not much you can do, whereas coming here and being able to pursue a career of choice and getting an education in such an amazing school, is truly a blessing.